Jenny Garris: Create fast lanes for disabled voters

Last week my husband and I used a paid driver to take us to two different libraries to vote.

We are both disabled and are 90- and 79–years-old.

The lines in both places were very long and we knew it would be impossible for us to stand in line for the estimated three or four hours to reach the front.

We thought about trying to early vote another day, though it would cost another $50 for the driver. We figured that if the lines were still too long, we'd go again Tuesday and try to endure. But in the end, my husband talked me into voting absentee.

We really value our privilege of voting and have rarely missed voting every two years. We want to vote in person to enjoy that "good feeling" as we leave our precinct. This is the first year I didn't get to vote in person, and I don't trust the absentee ballots. I feel if I vote in person, my vote will be counted.

There should be a separate line at each precinct for the disabled. Every person who receives a blue handicap tag or a state identification card from the Department of Motor Vehicles also receives a paper registration that shows proof of their disability. This could be shown to the poll worker as he or she checks every person in the disability line to eliminate cheaters.

Shouldn't the Americans With Disabilities Act notify every supervisor of elections that they must have a separate line to make voting accessible to us, just as they do in public places? To me, voting is so much more important than going to a restaurant, for example.

Could the Sun Sentinel take up this cause and use your good influence, with the right people or agencies, and assist us in our ability to vote safely and in reasonable comfort?

And thanks for printing your list of endorsements. I cut it out to take with me. It's much easier than the 11-page ballot.